The Hunt
by animeB4guys
Summary: Animal!stuck fanfiction. John gets mixed in a crazy team fighting against stopping a war that hasn't happened yet. With help from Dave they try to get him home and stop King Noir from starting the war. With help from others they fight to save the world from a unknown war. (Discontinued. Sorry whole file got wiped from computer.)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: If you guys fell like you've seen this story before you might have. Sam and I have been writing this and she has been publishing it on Tumblr. I wanted to post it on here and with her permission! Hope you enjoy!**

 **\- Ahj**

* * *

 _ **Chapter one: Captured**_

 **Be John Egbert**

Your name is John Egbert, and you're beginning to think you are the biggest _idiot_ that ever existed.

Ok, back it up. You aren't quite sure how you ended up in this predicament, so you rack your mind and try recall previous events. You are the Prince of the Forest, Son of the Stag, etcetera etcetera. Your dad is basically the ruler of your forest Kingdom, stretching all across the land until it hits the borderline to the enemy avian kingdom. So, of course, like all royalty, it goes without saying that you should be under careful watch at all times. It was a rule which you despise. Which all teenage kids despise, really. Not being able to have any privacy or freedom.

You decided you needed some space from the Glade. That isn't the only reason, though. The Glade's also always filled with the strong scent of wildflowers, courtesy of your doe-eyed sister Jane. She's always bringing bushels and bushels of heavily scented plants, and though you love her dearly, you wish she would keep your home a little less... decorative. As a young deer yourself, you decided to rebel against the rules and leave. Just a little adventure. For fun. You had taken on half form, with only your hind legs hooved and deer ears peeking up from your wild hair. You thought you'd be fine; if you didn't stray too far...

Oh how wrong you were.

You are John Egbert, and you should have your name officially changed to _**dead meat**_ by now.

Being jumped at by a creature from the enemy kingdom frightened you into taking full form, and you bolted through the trees in a blur. You saw a flurry of orange feathers, a flash of red, and now, somehow, you are pinned against a thick line of trees you can't wiggle past. You are stuck, and you are soon to be dead.

You feel the adrenaline rushing through you. God damn it, you are so _stupid_! Thinking you could handle yourself out of the Glade... Your stupid antlers still haven't grown in yet either. There is no way you can fight him off. He is from the avian kingdom. His kind hunts your kind. His kind kills your kind for fun! You don't know what to do...

 **John: Observe Enemy**

Your animal instincts kick in, and you try to find a weak point; an opening. The creature is about 2 meters away, hunched over in what you believe is it's half form. Oh look, it's prowling towards you; that's just _great._ As it inched closer, you press yourself up against the trees as far as you can go, and cautiously watch it- Him. You can see as he nears you.

The first thing you notice are the eyes. In the dim, shaded light of the forest, his eyes seemed to glow a vibrant, feline red as he watches you. Like a deer in the headlights. Only, instead of a car's headlights, it's his eyes. And instead of a deer, you are a- _well, ok_ , there's not much of a difference between a doe, a deer, a stag or a buck, but that's not the point! The point is, you are currently frozen in fear. And yet, curiosity still prods at you. You continue your assessment.

He inches closer to you, and you can both hear his team off in the distance disturbing the forest in their hunt. You don't focus on them though. You focus on the one eyeing you like you were dinner. His orange spotted wings are rigid behind him, but the tips drip like satin against the dirt ground. He grabs the black tinted goggles on his face and pulls them up to sit at his hairline, so that you can see freckles dust from cheek to cheek across his nose bridge, and his red irises burn into your wide, and slightly terrified blue ones.

You want to turn back to human form in order to talk to him, try to negotiate with him and prevent him from cooking you over a blazing fire. But the adrenaline coursing through your blood says otherwise. _Great._ You close your eyes as a taloned hand reaches out to your face, ready to accept your death. _Here we go, you're gonna die. Look at that, he's so close, one swipe and you'd be gone. Just embrace it, John, accept that Death wants to take you to back his place. You make it your goal to crash on Death's couch and something. You can show up and be like-_

Oh.

 **Wait- what?**

Tentatively, you blink an eye open and realize you are laying with your dainty deer legs tucked beneath you, and the bird boy is stroking you. He- An enemy- was ... petting your head? You admit it feels nice, and your body unwillingly relaxes into his touch, but your heart still pounds. You are about to question him (as much as you can do to get the point across in full animal form), when his troop calls to him from the brush and are heard walking towards the two of you. Hearing a harsh gasp, you have no time to think when suddenly he tackles you to the ground on your side and his claws grip around your slender neck.

 _ **Shit.**_

God damn it! It's official. This is why you are starting to think you are the biggest idiot that ever existed. All he was doing was leading you into a false sense of security! YOu were a _fool_ to think he wouldn't kill you. so _STUPID!_ You wait for the hair to leave your lungs, but once the initial shock wears off, you realize he's not actually strangling you. Like, seriously, can he make up his mind on if he wants to kill you and not? You are even _more_ confused than ever! Just then, your long, spotted ears flick against your head as they pick up a soft, sultry tone.

It's him. "Stay. Down."

He says it quietly and slowly, drawing out the vowels, as if he doesn't know that full forms can still fully comprehend human language.

You notice one talon is on your flank while the other is by your neck, both of which were gentle with the skin they were pressed against. You look up at him and notice that there's not a hint of deception or insincerity in those red irises. Growing tired from lack of oxygen getting to your brain, or the rush of adrenaline, you just lay on your side and nod. You aren't trusting him, but what else could you do but play along?

He understands your answer, and he starts wiping something slimy along your freshly groomed chestnut coat. _Ew. What is that?_ He seems to know what you're thinking, so he lets out a chuckle before looking over his wing to see if his team was there yet. "Name's Dave. Here, play dead for me." He apparently notices your confusion. "I'm not like the others... Prince John."

He flinches back when his hunting troop finally breaks through the brush and file into sight. Dave sends you a knowing look, which you take as your queue to act dead. Pushing your questions to the back of your thoughts, you still your breathing and lay limp on your side.

"Nice catch, lil man." An older, taller man in half-form praises Dave, fluffing up the feathers around the red-eyed boy's neck. You peek your eyes open just slightly, taking in his piercing orange gaze and raven colored feathers. "This will definitely keep our king satisfied for a while."

Dave just nods and pulls his goggles down to hide his eyes again. A full form girl flutters around his head before landing on his shoulder. She makes a series of chirping noises, her purple-tipped wings moving in some gesture you suppose Dave can understand. The other boy looks confused, before he shakes his head and starts walking towards you.

You panic- your dad must be worried sick! What if you don't ever see him again? or Jane?! Or your little sister Jade?! What if you'll never make it back to the Glade? You try to reign in your frenzied thoughts and swipe a look at Dave. He... he said he wasn't like the others. That's really all you can go on right now.

"Dirk, I can do it." The smokey schemed full form speaks as she changes to her human setting. Her short blond hair bobs as she makes her way towards Dirk. _What? Do what?_ You didn't think your heart could take any more heavy thumping. Total workout going on in your chest.

She is handed something from Dirk's hip satchel, and you see her pass a knowing look to Dave. The object in question is some sort of injection gun, from what you observe. "Let's see... here we are; preservation potion. Should keep you big lump of meat fresh for another four days." A blue vial is withdrawn from her own carrier and attached to the gun. She presses it up against your shoulder joint, and you have to force yourself to stay still.

"Alright, Rose. Let's fly this sucker home." Dirk grins, his pointed goggles already set on his face. He glances over at Dave, who withholds such enthusiasm. "You wanna lead, lil bro?" Dave seems to be lost in thought but nods anyways, shooting up into the air. You sense that Rose and Dirk lift you up into the hair as well, but you feel your eyelids flutter shut. _What... was that potion?_ You want to fight it, you want to stay awake and keep your guard up, but sleep just seems so... so desireable at the moment. A concerned, red pair of eyes is the last thing you catch sight of before darkness shrouds your mind, and you fall to the potion.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Quick note for you guys. I've uploaded about 3 chapters today. WE WILL NOT ALWAYS UPLOAD THIS MUCH IN A DAY! We had a shit ton of time this weekend to write a bunch of chapters. We have 3 done and one under editing. So don't think I'll post this much everyday. Now that that's over. Enjoy!**

 **-Ahj**

 _ **Chapter two: Falling**_

 **John: Be the 'Dave' boy.**

You are now the 'Dave' boy. You are currently on your way to the base of the Mountain. It doesn't take very long to travel between kingdoms. Like the forest fauna have the Glade, the clawed creatures have the Mountain. The peak, which you might add, is where your king sits. He doesn't really do much; just sleeps and kills whoever doesn't bring him food. And that's where you come in; it is you and your siblings' assigned duty to feed the angry ruler, to drop off any recent catch you hunted this week at the entrance near the base.

And what a catch you have.

Glancing over your wing, you see Dirk and Rose have opted to share the deadweight of a royal deer between the two of them as you flew through the air. You're worried; why wouldn't you be? You captured- and killed, I might add!- the heir to the throne of the opposing kingdom! King Egbert would be outrageous, and you'd be the one who started the whole mess. Well... you didn't really know that at the time you were hunting a prince. From what you knew, you thought only commoners roamed the forest alone. Royals were meant to stay in the Glade. It's not like you're actually _trying_ to start a war.

"Dave? Dave!" Dirk's loud voice snaps you out of your thoughts. "You know, you shouldn't be at the tip of our formation if all you're going to do is be a shitty leader." He huffs at your confusion. "You we're just about to fly right over the Mountain."

You look down and see the peak right behind and beneath you. _Oops._ You let out a string of curses, catching an hair drift to push you back. You spiral down and tuck your wings in closely, with Dirk and Rose close behind. Like practiced, all three of you flare out your wings and land more and less gracefully on the ground. It not like any of this is new.

Dirk sends you a questioning look, with those stupid eyebrow arches to those stupid pointy goggles of his. "It's nothing! I'm fine." You answer his unspoken words and roll your eyes, strutting into the large, cave-like entrance. Oh, how lovely. There's the smell of rotting corpses you love just _so_ much... "Let's just drop that thing off here so I can skin him."

Rose changes to her human setting- she seems to prefer that over half form- and drags John over to you. You signal her slightly, with just a flick of your right, orange accented wing. She gives the slightest of nods and gently places the deer onto the skinning stone. "Done and done. Now let us go up to our nests. I have a lot of research of the flora growing around I want to catch up on." She gives you a wink as she drags Dirk upwards before he has any chance to ask questions.

You wait and stand rigid for a solid 15 minutes, before you hear Dirk's rumbling snores and Rose's soft humming, from both their respective nests. _Great. Let's get this over with._

"Hey, prince-y prince." You open up the wooden box- a birthday gift from your bro- sitting in one corner of the Skinning Stone. Pulling out a Vial with yellow liquid, you attach it to another injection gun on the table and gently press it up against the young deer's neck. The fur feels soft and warm against your blistered hands.

 **Dave: Examine corpse.**

You can't help it. Injecting the potion to counter the 'preservation' one, you sigh and drag a stone chair over and gently sit on the edge. Your red eyes skim over the animal, and you can't help but feel sad, completely unironically. He seems to be fairly young, you take notice. No antlers yet. His warm chestnut fur is a smooth shade of brown, with creamy colored freckles dotting their way down his spine, around his flanks, and to his hooves. You remember his eyes, the more you stare at him. They were so blue. So terrified...

You lean on your hands against the stone, inwardly groaning at your hunt. It was impossible to get Dirk off your back. He was the one who organized the hunts, after all. Rose knows what your plan is, and she supports it, but you're still not sure if you two could tell your older bro about it. Your plan was still... in the making. The "preservation potion" your sister injected into John wasn't actually what it was labelled to be. Rose specialized in plants; specifically what _potions_ crushing those plants could create. The blue colored preservation is nearly identical to the sleeping death potion she actually gave the prince. You were glad it would only make him _seem_ dead; slow his heart rate, reduce body temperature, etc etc. She wanted to unite the kingdoms as much as you did, and stopping the kills from the hunt was the first step in the plan... but you didn't think Dirk would accept it yet.

Everything in the Avian Kingdom was so harsh, and bleak, and rocks, and dirt, and feathers, and sticks, and boulders, and hardness, and coldness. You envied the Forest Kingdom, mostly because, despite your cool outer shell and what you want people to think of you, you actually like the warm, and the fluffy, and the flowers, and the people, and John.

You smile, pushing your goggles to your head. _And John..._ He's caught your eye ever since the first time you flew over the Glade. You hadn't realized it, but now you're running your talons across the royal deer's side. It just seemed so comfortable and soft, you didn't really think much of it. _Yeah, Dave Strider, straight as a circle. Straighter than a drunk man walking down the street._ You've never seen him in human form, but in half, you thought he looks absolutely gorgeous. Swirling the tufts of hair between each claw, you gently pet your way up the other's back, then the neck, the the soft, thin hair behind the graceful ears and big blue eyes...

 **blue eyes?**

 _ **Oh fuck he's awake.**_

You flinch back, and he does too. Oops, you forgot you injected the awakening potion. Stupid. You frightened him; again. Great going Dave. Real nice. You want to get the trust of the Forest Kingdom, remember? Help unite the two sides, stop the hunting, stop the war? Yeah.

You shake your head from your self-rambling, and look up. The poor boy is practically melted into the stone wall behind him. He doesn't seem to be as scared as when you were hunting him, though. You clear your throat and approach him slowly, trying to bring a sense of normality. "Morning, princess."

You smirk as you see the potion kicking in, and John seems to relax, even going so far as to scoot towards you to the edge of the Skinning Stone. He takes on half form, and you had to force down the oncoming blush and squeal. Striders don't do that; they don't act like lovesick fools. But, you guess you were one...

"Where..." He finally speaks, his small voice laced with a certain fire, and you sit back in the chair. Now in half form, he stretches out his two deer legs softly and crosses his arms over them. "Where am I?"

"You're in the Avian Kingdom. But chill; i'm gonna get you out." You explain quickly and smoothly, trying not to let your eyes linger on the way his tousled black hair sits around his animal ears. "I'm trying to stop an oncoming war."

He- cautiously- leans forward and tilts his head, a gentle ear twitching. "War? Between our kingdoms? What war?" His two hooves tap the stone beneath him nervously as his legs dangle from the stone. "And why did you capture me if you're going to help me get back anyway, you psychopath?"

In the a split second it takes you to answer, someone else's voice pipes up from above you. "Yes, the war, you dumb-nutted dork." _Great._ You roll your red eyes and sigh. The only time you would be able to talk to the boy you've been crushing on for who knows how long, your nestmate decides to barge in.

John looks up, his blue eyes searching the many openings to the nests to who spoke. He looks at you, and you slump into your stone chair. "AJ, god damn it, if you're going to barge in, at least don't do it hanging from my ceiling. Get down here." Right on queue, your nestmate peeks her head through one of the many entrances; she was in your nest again.

She flips over and lands on her feet, before walking over to you two, her snowy, blue tipped wings dragging behind her. Two black feathers cup either side of her shortly cropped hair, acting a sort of crown, and to refine hearing. You give her a lazy wave as she sits at the edge of the Skinning Stone. John warily looks at her, and you exhale slowly, motioning for her to scoot away. Too many 'enemy' creatures for him to handle at once, probably. Your nestmate smiles, her grey eyes holding a sense of mischievousness.

 **Dave: Be the grey eyed nestmate.**

You are now the grey eyed nestmate. Dave Strider's gay of gay friend. Like 70% gay. No hetero, right? I mean you're not 100% gay. You think some guys are cute, buttt you like gals. Yeah. gay. Yep. Enough rambling! You shake your head and turn to face your nestmate's man-crush, as he calls it. Man, it's like everyone who hangs with the striders are gay. wow. You guess that doesn't apply to this John boy...

You smirk. _Not yet._

You make it your duty, as the older nestmate, to help your bro Dave with his relationship dilemmas, he'd be single for forever if it weren't for you.

"Sup? Name's AJ. I like fish and daggers." You say, giving your signature playful salute making a small clicking noise. Sweet, Short, and to the point.

"Um..." John glances sideways a bit, before giving a shaky grin. "Hey. I'm John."

You fight down a giggle, instead sending a knowing, teasing look to your friend, who you could swear has a blush on his face. "Yeah I _know_. Dave talks about you _all_ the-"

You're cut short by Dave's hand covering your mouth, his intense stare lasering into your head. You chuckle, looking at him before licking his hand.

"Gah~!" He shouts out, moving his hand away and wiping it on you. "AJ, that's so gross. Stop doing that." He clears his throat. John lets out a soft laugh, and Dave cracks a smile. Whispering harshly, you kick him in the shin; _he's hopeless._ "Dave! You're staring!"

He blinks out of it and glares at you, rubbing his leg. Talk about first impressions. "And stop doing _this_ too! God _damn_ that hurt!" He hissed, scooting his chair towards John and away from you.

You feel a sense of victory as you notice your bro's crush doesn't shy away in fear, and instead laughs at you two. You try to relieve any lingering tension in the air. John could trust you two; and maybe he'd help with the plan. "Sorry, Strider. I can't hear you over all the shits i dont give."

Dave gives you the bird (haha get it) and crosses his arms. "Don't mind her." He turns to the deer boy. "Anyways, i'm sure you have a shitload of questions. Give me the first."

"Firstly, what war? What were you talking about?" He quirks his mouth to the side and tilts his head again in that adorable fashion of his, and you could swear it reminds you of someone.

You cross your arms, lazily examining your wingtips. "You're a smart kid, John. I'm sure you're aware of the tension between our two kingdoms." He nods. "Sooner and later, it's gonna snap."

"And there will be a big ass war." Dave cuts in for you, staring intently at the other, in seriousness rather than admiration. "Like, battle and death kinda thing. That's where AJ and I come in. For the past couple months, we've been trying to hide our plan, but still help the Resistance. Setting free the prey we catch on hunts is one thing, but not nearly enough." You all look at each other, and then at John's furrowed eyebrows. "You've never heard of the resistance?"

"No. My father has made it his job to educate me only on how to rule the kingdom, and told me not to meddle with commoner battles." He sighs, slouching his white spotted shoulders. _Good, he doesn't seem like he's against the Resistance._ "I'm guessing they're this totally awesome band of Avians, and the forest Fauna they've spared in hunts, who go undercover and stuff?"

You hesitate, this is a royal you are speaking with. He could very easily inform the high king of the Forest, and this little Resistance business would be done for. But if Dave trusts him...

 **AJ: tell John about Resistance.**

You smirk and put your hands on your waist, striking a dramatic pose, while Dave places his face in his hands. "You're partially right, in terms of what we do. But nah. This is the Resistance right here. You're looking at it."

John's blue eyes dart between you, then Dave, then you again. "How the hell do you two expect to stop a whole war by yourselves?" He hops off the Stone and dusts off his fur, and his white tipped tail flickers behind him. You blink; that mannerism seemed so familiar. Who have you seen do that as well...

Dave lets out a laugh; it was dry. Merely for show. "Oh, we also have my sister, Rose. She's the egghead who got you here alive and past my Bro, with her potions." He looks out the entrance to the cave as a roar shakes the room. "Shit. it's feeding time. Anyways, we have a plan. Promise. And if you'd join, that'd be great. The kings would never agree on something us peasants suggested, even if we're stopping a war. But if you, John, the heir to the Forest Kingdom, were to help, well that's a whole 'nother story."

Right after another hungry screech from your king, you quietly judge the conversation between the two boys; John seems so much lighter on his feet, and Dave seems to have toned his shyness down. _Must be a dream come true for the kid._ You wink at John when he looks at you, before you fly back up to the nests. Time to get cracking on the Resistance plans.

 **AJ, be Dave Strider.**

You are now Dave Strider. And you are talking to John. You can't believe you've fallen for such a dorky kid. You examine him in half form as he rocks back and forth on his two hooves. His buck teeth are exposed in the soft grin on his face as you absent mindedly say something about the bird kingdom to him. Something about nesting? Oh well. At least you looked cool to him.

There was another screech, and you go to tell AJ to feed the king, but she had disappeared. _When the fuck did that happen?_ You roll your eyes and pull the goggles down onto your face; you didn't want John to think you were creepy with how much you were staring. Like, god, why was he so attractive? That was totally not fair.

You know you're hot as hell though. Hotter than a summer's day down in the Ocean Kingdom. It's just that you'd never know if he swings that way. Nope. From what you could tell John was as straight as a line. You exhale and stop your talking as yet another roar thunders through the cave.

John flinches and ducks his head softly. "Oh, Dave? You said... you would bring be back home safely. It'd be totally lame if you didn't." He joked, but his ears dipped down in apprehension.

"Hm? Oh, shit, yeah. Just-" You groan inwardly. You don't want him to leave; you don't know if you'll ever be able to talk to him again. _But it was a royal promise, you asshat. Take him home._ "Listen here, Egderp. Go down the nest passageways to your left, and once your at ground level, I want you to- in full form- sprint as far away from this place as possible, but hang around outside of the forest territory. Don't ask why; just trust me on thing, got it?"

John blinks his eyes a couple of times to process the instructions, before he nods slowly. You feel a nagging sense of protectiveness, and watch quietly as John trots on his two hind hooves out of the cave. Sighing to yourself as the King bellows from above, you spread your wings...

And take off.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Let me know what you guys think about this chapter. We spent more time on this one and hope you guys like it! Enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 3: Shenanigans_ **

**Dave, be your man crush.**

You are now John Egbert; Dave's respective man crush. And you are running. Again. _Great._ Back to this. I mean, at least you aren't being chased by some carnivorous bird things this time, but still. You follow Dave's instructions and you somehow make it out of the Mountain alive, on your way to neutral ground.

You run for quite a while, hooves pounding against the rocky terrain and the wind rushing through your fur. God, how you loved the wind. A grin spreads across your spotted muzzle as you sprint through the wide open territory. You were never allowed to run free like this back at the Glade, and you milk the moments as much as you can. As you gallop through, you are so caught up in your enjoyment that you nearly break through Forest territory again.

 _Oh Crap!_ You think, planting down your legs and skidding across the neutral ground harshly. Instincts kicked in, and you try to morph back into human form, before remembering what Dave had said. Keep in full form, and hide away on neutral ground. You groan and plop your head onto the flat surface of the stone, not bothering to get up off your side. The ground wasn't as rocky as when you were back near the Mountain. You hadn't realized how much sprinting had tired you out.

 **John: Go to sleep.**

You don't normally sleep in full form, but you didn't have any other choice. _Just... One little nap couldn't hurt..._ You sigh and curl up into yourself, placing a soft cheek onto your flank, tucking your hooves beneath you. Closing your blue eyes, you let sleep envelop you and hope Dave would find you soon.

...

 **John, be the Leader of the Resistance.**

You are now Dave Strider, and you are on your way to speak with your sister. You let out a yawn and rub your temples with your free hand as you glide through the air, making a quick stop at the Peak. The roaring was giving you a major migraine. "God damn, Noir. There, I fed you. Calm down, man." You drop a carcass from some of the other Avian's hunt, and you watched as the mutant bird king swallows it down before burrowing back quickly into his cave. You make your way to the nests, right below the King's chambers.

"Rose?" You chirp out softly, respectfully standing behind the curtain of flowers strung together, which acts as a door for her nest. You find it cute in a way, but it isn't as cool as your own door of rocks, strung together by dried vines. "Can I come in? I gotta talk to you about the Resistance and shit."

There was a gentle flutter of feathers before the line of flora is brushed out of the way and Rose stands in half form. "Dave." She greets.

You duck into her room and give her a nod. Time to get down to planning.

 **Dave, be your Nestmate.**

You are now AJ, and you are down right bored. After Dave fed Noir, you went back to your shared nest and hung around. Literally. You know what Dave has in plan. You know Dave very well. You have a way of reading people like Rose, but you like to keep the information to yourself. A spy's gotta know what to share and what not to share.

You see Dave enter Rose's nest. With a smile, you kick off the ceiling and fly into the nest. Careful not to knock anything over with your wide wingspan, you rest at an opening.

"I sent John on his way." It's Dave, as you listen closely. "I'm planning on meeting up with him on Neutral Ground. Were gonna need him."

"And..." Rose quipped. "how do you know he's going to be safe?" You grin; you can hear it in your voice she's messing with him. She turns back, working on her current project.

"Fuuuuck!" Dave groans, his wings going stiff. "I didn't think that far!"

As fun as it is to hear Dave freak out about his crush, you decide to put him out of his misery. "Luckily, I did." You say, making yourself known.

The two look surprised at first, but Rose then smiles. "...Hello Amber."

"Rose." You scrunch your nose at her. "We've been over this! Don't call me that. You don't call Dave 'David' and I don't call you Roseanne or whatever your first name really is. So don't. It's AJ." You grumble, rolling your eyes. "Say it with me; AAA JJJ."

"AJ, what are you even doing here?" Dave exhales, looking annoyed at you... As always. "You're supposed to be working on the strategy plans for later this week."

"I'm doing you a favor, Dave. I'm gonna go follow that dork you like and keep him safe. You take care of shit here and I'll make sure everything goes well on his end." You say crossing your arms.

"No." Came his instant, hissed reply.

"What the fuck do you mean 'no' Mr. Strider?!"

"I mean 'you won't go.'"

"Why _not?_ "

"You're gonna mess with John and we need you here." He raises a finger at you. You give him a look of 'huh that's why' "Don't give me that look; I know you. you're gonna screw up my chances with this boy."

You sigh dramatically. "But Daveeee. You don't need me _now_. I have another assignment _later this week_. Someone needs to keep the little prince alive and safe. You need to work with Rose. And I won't fuck up your chances with him... that much."

Dave exhales and pinches the bridge of his nose before he looks over at Rose.

She nods softly. "Let her go, Dave. She's the fastest in the air, and I do need to talk to you on this."

You let out a taunting laugh and jump out the window. "I'll meet you there, Dave!"

You take off from the Mountain and fly over the Avian Territory, heading in the direction in which you saw John leave. You hope he hasn't hurt himself or been captured by other, non-resistance members, so you give a heavy stroke with your ashy blue tipped wings through the wind currents.

You fly over to the barren, neutral ground between the two opposing territories, your grey eyes scanning for any signs of movement or deer creatures.

There!

It's just a glimpse, but you notice a patch of white and brown amongst the boring rocky terrain. It was definitely John. Leaning to one side, you catch a current and swoop down, feathers ruffling in the wind before you land more and less gracefully. "John!" You call out as you skip towards the animal boy.

As you draw near, you hush up and slow your pace, realizing he's asleep. _Aw, how vulnerable and adorable._ Your bird instincts prod your mind, but you shake your head at the horror of what you were thinking. John is friend, friend is good. You squat next the the ball of fur and set your weight on your heels.

 **AJ: wake John up.**

"Hey prince dork~." You hum, rubbing his fur softly, hoping to wake him up without frightening him. You didn't think he would be able to fall asleep, considering the traumatizing events which has taken place previously. He looks so precious! You quip his ear a little, hoping to stir him from his peaceful slumber.

He curls up more into himself and buries his muzzle into his flank, as if to say "Five more minutes." You let out a puff of air before leaning close to his ear as whispering, "Rise and Shine, sleeping beauty."

John opens his blue eyes and lifts his head up to face you.

"Mornin', sunshine." you say, smiling softly. You let out a laugh when you see the tufts of hair sticking up around his ears.

 **AJ: be the sunshine.**

You groan and try to chastise whoever is waking you up, but you find that you can't say anything. Your voice won't come out! Having a mini heart attack, you shoot your eyes open, before you relax and realize you fell asleep in full form.

 _ **Duh.**_

You awake to shining grey eyes in your face. AJ smiles at you and chuckles, and you have a feeling it's about how tired you look and something. "Glad to see you're awake and that you found the neutral ground."

You let out a yawn and stretch your limbs, before switching to half form. Rubbing your neck, you blink blearily up at the girl. "...AJ?" That was her name, right? You roll your neck and scratch a long, furry ear, finding that your flower crown from your sister is still on your head. You pull yourself into a proper sitting position as AJ nears you.

She nods and plops down next to you, and you scoot to sit next to her. She was... Dave's nestmate, right? You try to relieve the tension in your shoulders. How long have you been sleeping? Taking a glance to the sky, you notice it's a solid color of navy blue, with orange and pink fading near the horizons in every direction of the Neutral Ground.

Oh...

"Holy crap!" You exclaim, running a hand through your wild mane of black hair. "How long was I out?!"

"A couple of hours tops, most likely."

You facepalm. "My father's gonna kill me!"

AJ blinks, then rests a hand on your shoulder. "Well, Eghead, it's not like you can go back to the Glade yet." She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively at you, and you tilt your head in confusion. "Dave still needs to meet up with us."

You perk up at the mention of Dave. "He's supposed to come here? When?"

"He was supposed to be here about an hour after you ran off, but I don't know what's keeping him..." AJ frowns and looks up at the darkening sky.

You follow suite, but nothing but stars dot the sky; no sign of feathers and red glowing eyes anywhere. You hum softly, closing your eyes again as you lean back onto the ground beside the bird girl. "I'm just gonna lie here until he comes. This whole day has been stressful."

AJ raises an eyebrow before shrugging at you, tickling your sensitive deer nose with her wingtips. "No, man. You gotta stay awake. I promise, Dave will be here soon; and then we'll talk about the resistance biz and stuff."

You bite your bottom lip before groaning. "Fine, fine. Stop that!" You give her wing a little shove, and she laughs, opting to perch on a low tree branch upside down instead.

"So... what do you wanna do to pass the time?" She tucks in her wings, but doesn't revert back to human form. "I mean... just until your Knight in Shining Armor comes along."

You can't help but feel that AJ is up to something, but you disregard any lingering thoughts about it at the moment. You have a couple of questions to ask, and you're sure that AJ will be more willing to answer you more straightforwardly.

 **John: Be the grey-eyed girl.**

"So..." John drawls, rubbing the back of his neck as you hang upside down on a low hanging branch. Dave has to take care of business with Rose about the Resistance, so he sent you to keep John safe. Watch him and keep any other troops off of his trail. Stupid Fauna have such a strong scent to follow, but you weren't worried, considering your supply of daggers. Dave made you promise not to fuck up his chances with John. Let's see if you can do that.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's your relationship with Dave?"

Your first reaction is being excited that Dave's crush is asking about his relationship life. Maybe he's taking a liking to your bro. You smirk, but then hesitate, and then you let out a sigh as memories hit you.

It's been almost five years since that day. If this John boy is going to be with Dave, and is going to be trusted with the Resistance, he's gonna need to know the story. "Okay John. Listen well and get comfy. I have quite a story to tell you." You say, hopping off the branch and sitting on the ground across from him.

 **AJ: tell the story like a flash back.**

Dirk and Dave are walking down the street, and market stands line the sidewalks with shoppers looking at what to buy. It was a chill day, and the young 11 year old Strider follows quietly behind his older brother. "Hey Dirk! What are we looking for?" Dave pipes up, looking around.

"Some apple juice. And maybe a bit more." Dirk replies, smirking.

Dave shoots the older boy a questioning look, but otherwise keeps on walking. They pick up some apples at a stand, before putting them in their bags and continue walking through the market.

Dave glances up from his satchel in time to see someone walk briskly at him. He, however, doesn't have nearly enough time to step out of the way. The person trips, bumping harshly into the boy. "Oh, sorry man." Says the boy before walking off.

Dave raises an eyebrow at the strange sounding voice, before noticing his satchel feels lighter. He huffs. "Dirk?"

"Yeah?"

"That boy just stole some apples from my bag. Wanna join me to get them back?" Dave grins at the idea of a challenge, and Dirk mirrors the look.

Dirk shrugs, turns away from the market tender, and the brothers both follow after the person. They weave through the crowd, careful not to lose sight of their target, and each other. At one point, Dirk had to throw his little bro over his shoulder so as not to get separated. When the crowd starts clearing out, they notice the thief enters the woods at the end of the market, and takes off.

They run after him for several more minutes before stopping. "Shit, where did he go?" Dave grumbles, looking around. "How the fuck will we make any good AJ?" Dirk pauses a few paces behind the younger Strider and bends down. Dave glances over his shoulder, "...Dirk?"

The boy in question tosses a pebble up at the tree, hitting something harshly.

"Fuck!" The tree swears. _Wait, trees can't talk._ The thief shows himself slowly, peering over the branch and rubbing the back of his head. Dirk smirks at the boy teasingly, "Hey there, dude. Mind giving us our apples back?"

The boy doesn't talk, but tosses an apple core at Dave before biting into another apple.

"You little shit!" Dave yells, storming towards the tree and looking up through his goggles, shaking a fist.

"I happen to be a _big_ shit." The thief snarks, "Now, is there anything else you want? Or are you going to stare at me all day with your mouths open for me to come down?"

Dave looks over at Dirk. Why hasn't he made a move? Dirk would usually have the person down by now. He's up to something...

"Do you want me to get you down? Cause I will." Dirk challenges, and the younger bro blinks as his mind works to piece together Dirk's plan.

"I'd like to see you try."

 _ **Bad idea.**_

A quick second after Dave figures out what Dirk is planning, he leans back as wind rushes past him in an orange blur. He... He just flash-stepped! "Dirk!" Dave gapes as Dirk is already half way up the tree, and the thief is staring wide-eyed at the older brother. "That's against the law, bro! You can't fucking use magic, Dirk, are ya tryin' to get us banished, or worse; killed? Use yer head, ya dumbass!"

Dirk glances over his shoulder at his little bro, before turning to face the thief. "You're accent's showing, Dave! Chill, little man. I've taken care of you all your life, you think I'm gonna let the authorities hurt us? I think not." He pulls himself up onto the same branch as the apple boy and blocks him from any means of escape. "Gotcha."

The thief blinks in shock at the other, before reaching into his satchel. "... Ugh, fine. Take the damn apples back."

"I don't want the apples." Dirk smirked.

"What?"

"Take your hood off."

"Why?"

Dirk dodges the question. "Let me see your eyes, kid."

"NO." Came the defensive reply.

"I'll take it off for you."

"Stop, no, don't touch me."

"I'll take my shades off." He bargains.

The thief bites the inside of his cheek before he sighs, pulling down the hood. Shortly cropped hair flares out and silver eyes peek open. "There, happy? Now stop being so mysterious and get to the point, Mr. magic user."

Dirk grins and pulls his glasses onto his head, revealing orange irises. "Name's Dirk, and my little bro is Dave." He leans forward. "I knew it. You're the daughter of the Laurain family." He looks down to see Dave on his way up to tree too. "Sorry for assuming you were a dude. Anyways, my friend Jake; he told me your family is a legacy for spell casting."

"Wait, you know Jake? Jake English?" The thief perks up, crossing her legs. "He's the one who works on my weapons!"

Dirk laughs and looks lost in thought. "Yeah... He's got a wonderful tinkering skill for weapons. If I trust anyone with my trusty katana, it'll be him." Dirk realizes he's gushing, so he clears his throat and looks away. "Uh... he told me to keep an eye out for people like... like us. Cursed."

The thief exhales and scoots over. "Yeah. 'Life's no adventure without some friends to watch your back.' How naive can a 15 year old boy be?"

"Dude, you're like, eleven."

"Age is a number, Maturity is a matter of how your brain develops." Ember answers cooly.

"Wow, our mutual friend has a horrible taste in friends. We're assholes." Dirk chuckles, leaning back on the branch. "So... who are you? not just the Laurain title, but you and your info."

"Name's Ember. I'm guessing your family was targeted for the Iris curse by the Black Queen too, huh?" She mused. "Orange eyes? you're probably from-"

"Down south, yes. It's a small world, isn't it?"

She nods. "It's going to be even smaller if King Noir really is planning to split the Kingdom into Territories." Ember begins her way down, with Dirk following suite. "So why did you use magic in front of me? I could've been an undercover Authority, y'know. I could've arrested you in a snap."

"Jake told me to keep an eye out for others, so when we saw you flash step into the forest, we thought you could help us..." Dirk starts, bringing a sense of seriousness to the light conversation. He looks down fondly at the youngest of the trio, who was staring up at them with angry red eyes. "See... the authorities down south are catching onto us Striders. They took our parents. I'm the only one Dave has left to protect him." He lands on the ground flawlessly, with Ember not too far behind. "So... I was wondering, if you'd maybe help us. Tell us how to survive with the curse. First of all, how to change your eyes to a certain color."

She bites her lip quietly, her silver eyes shining in thought. "... You're really all he's got left?"

Dirk walks up to Dave and ruffles the younger one's hair. "And he's all I have too. We're brothers, we have to watch each other."

"...Fine." Ember reluctantly agrees, starting to walk through the forest, and Dave raises a questioning eyebrow at Dirk. The older just fist pumps the air.

"Come with me."

...

They entered the house through the back door, near the edge of the forest. "Mom? Dad? Anybody home?" Ember shouts out to the empty house, turning on the lights. She slides her hood off again and motions for the striders to follow. She hurries to the kitchen, suspicious of the unnatural quiet atmosphere. Where was her family?

Glancing over at the counter, Ember bites her cheek when she notices a piece of paper folded flat onto the table's surface.

Checking the note, It read:

 _-Ember,_

 _We found a place to hide, but they're isn't enough room for all of us. We're sorry, but we wouldn't have been able to go if you were with us. They are still after us, after you. We would have died if we didn't leave. We're sure you can find a way to survive, right? Don't look for us._

 _\- the family -_

The girl stiffly rests her palms against the table, her breathing growing ragged. She rereads the note over and over, as if the words written would change. Anger slowly builds up in her, and she lets out a snarl.

Dirk peers over her shoulder and starts to read the note, but Ember crumples it, tossing it to the side.

She takes a deep breath, though it's it's a little shaky, but she calms down a bit. "We need to move fast." She states, striding over to the living room, grabbing a book off the bookshelf.

"What was in the note?" Dave asks, looking around.

"Nothing of importance." She dismisses, before sitting them down onto the couch. " I'm going to turn your eyes brown; you'll be able to fit in with the villagers in the east, (which is the Mountain territory 5 years later)."

Dirk and Dave look at each other, nodding. "What do you need us to do?"

"Do you guys have any personal items with you?" Ember asks, flipping through the pages of the book frantically. "It needs to be something you always carry and wear; I'll enchant it. The stronger the sentiment you feel for the item, the stronger the spell will be."

It's silent for a split second, before Dirk exhales. "Here... the only thing I care about as much as Dave is this." He pulls a ring off of his index finger and hands it over to the girl, who examines it, deciding if it would be a valid item to use. She raises her eyebrows.

"The enchantment will be quite strong with this item... how the hell can you care so much about a piece of jewelry?"

Dirk clears his throat and averts his gaze, taking the ring back and running his thumb over it. "Uh... Jake made it for me... It was my birthday."

The two children snicker at the oldest of the trio, before Ember explains, "Have this on you, and your eyes will stay the color. I tinkered with it a bit so it will only work on you."

She puts a hand in her pocket and pulls out a German iron cross necklace; blue with silver lining. "This is mine. My sister has one just like mine, but a bit different." She pauses, letting out a sigh before continuing. "When you're wearing the ring, your eyes will change to the color I set them to." She puts on the necklace and her silver eyes change to a watery grey with light brown around the pupil. She blinks a few times and the color becomes more dominant while the silver fades away. "These will work whenever you have them on but they need to be re-enchanted every month. You can't wear it for over 24 hours and you have to keep it out of the sunlight. If you don't, it will break. Understand?"

The brothers nod. Dave fiddles with something beneath his jacket, before he pulls it out. Wordlessly, he tosses it to Ember, who examines it as well. She blinked at the power potential, before she hands it back.

Dave ignores her questioning look, but Dirk pipes up, "It was our mother's watch. Dave started to take a liking to anything having to do with time ever since..." Dave tucks his head down and Dirk runs a hand through his little bro's hair. "Well... you know."

Ember just nods, closing the spellbook.

"How do you know all of this?" Dave finally questions, surprised by all the knowledge she holds.

"When your whole family is cursed and you have the worst of it, you have to grow up quickly and learn to survive. You do it your way. I've done it my way. Now let's get started!" She says pulling them both down the stairs.

They enter a small room, hidden from sight and she starts with Dirk. Taking a stand of his hair and a drop of his blood, she makes a potion, enchanting the metal with it and crafting him one half of a heart.

Ember does the same with Dave, but crafts it into a gear. She looks them over once and passes them to them. (I hope you don't mind me changing the charms to their personal items... but this could lead to some really cool ideas later)

"Congrats. Your eyes should be safe now. They won't need charging for a while. Your natural eyes will begin to show when it's running low."

"Thanks, Em." Dirk says, roughing up her hair.

"Yeah yeah. Anytime Di-Stri." She grins, exiting the room with them in tow.

"So what are you two going to do now?" She wonders.

Before one of them could answer Ember got hit with something. The three glance around, and Ember looks down to see a vial emptying.

"Oh crap." She stumbles to the ground, her hands shaking against the floor. "Get... get out of here now." She orders, getting weak. Her eyelids began to flutter closed.

"Ember! what's happening!?" Dave shies behind Dirk, who stands in front of him protectively, brown eyes darting around.

"The government." She coughs. "They... they found us." Was all she manages to get out before knocking out.

"Ember? Ember?!" Dave yells, trying to wake her up, to no avail. The girl's head hangs loosely and her breathing turns shallow.

"Shit!" Dirk swears angrily, frantically checking around the room. There's no escape route aside from the front and back doors, both of which sounds of footsteps could be heard from.

"Dave, we have to-" Dirk's brown eyes widen in sudden fear. "Dave, look out!" Without thinking, the older brother jumps forward and wraps his body around Dave, shielding him from the oncoming dart. "Shit..." Stumbling forward, he passes out, trying his best to cover his little bro.

"Dirk?! Dirk!" Dave panics, before the authorities storm the house, and he's knocked out as well.


End file.
